happy accidents
by tannerycreek
Summary: the attraction between opposites inevitably leads to a quirky relationship. from a first date to a serious relationship, and all the misadventures in between.
1. a happy accident

_Fairy Tail + Characters __© Hiro Mashima_

**A/N:** So, I just had a lot of motivation to write since it is now summer and I only have one class for spring, and I have a lot of Fairy Tail feels. This collection of one-shots and short stories have no real underlying plot, besides being written for fluffy romantic feels. Hope you can enjoy it.

Rated for Gajeel's potty mouth (for now, fufu~).

* * *

01. A Happy Accident

People would later ask how the subject was broached, and neither of them would be able to adequately answer. It hadn't been planned, it had just sort of…happened.

Gajeel distinctly remembered that he had initially been annoyed at her request to come with him. He had wanted to do errands around Magnolia, and for some reason the thought of her accompanying him on those personal tasks was uncomfortably pleasing. However, it was the fact that Levy had acted so casual about it, as though it were a familiar thing for them to do, that had caught him off guard. Which was an unsettling feeling, especially for him. Thankfully, Lily had accepted on behalf of the both of them, as Gajeel had been too moronically incoherent to form an effective reply.

He continued to be silent as they strolled down the street, and was surprised to find that Levy was not her usual chatterbox self. Curiosity slowly began to eat away at him, until finally he peered over his shoulder to find that the tiny woman wasn't even paying to her surroundings, much less him. She was reading as she walked, without so much as a glance to monitor her direction. His brow furrowed in irritation, why was she even following him around then, if she all she wanted to do was read? Bad luck and coincidence intervened at that precise moment, and gave him his answer.

She tripped over a rock jutting up from street, and he reacted swiftly to steady her. Once she was safely upright, he released his grip on her elbow and said in a tone that was perhaps a touch harsher than he'd meant, "Why the hell are you reading and walking at the same time? I thought you were supposed to be smart."

She raised her gaze towards him only for a second, her voice curt and defensive, "Well, I figured I could get some things at the market, but I also need to finish reading this chapter. And you were going anyways."

"Oh, you _need _to finish the chapter, well then it all makes perfect sense." There was a sharp sarcasm to his words, as he was almost certain it wasn't a matter of life or death if she read the chapter _later_, maybe when she was _sitting down_. That said Levy wouldn't be Levy without her fiery defiance or clever retorts.

"It's _easy_ when I'm with you, anyways. You stand out so much in my peripheral vision, I just follow the big, looming shadow around." He might have pointed out that her tone implied that she was insulting him, but she bulldozed over his grumbling with a determined raise in her voice, "And _normally_ everything's fine. That misstep was a minor accident, it almost never happens."

He knew she was flat out fibbing to him then, as he had watched her walk and read before. In the guildhall she would bump into chairs, tables and people all along her path, leaving a trail of clumsy destruction in the wake of her overzealous reading habits. He gritted his teeth, knowing he should just drop it, but felt it damn near impossible not to get the last word in, "If you don't cut that shit out, one of these days you're really going to fall over and mess up that pretty face of yours."

It hadn't even occurred to him that he'd called her pretty, it just sort of slipped out. He didn't realize it when she stopped walking and stared up at him with a skeptical squint, as though she was unsure if she'd heard him correctly. He still didn't realize it when Lily, who had been attempting to ignore their bickering, whipped his head around so abruptly that he nearly fell off of his spot on Gajeel's shoulder. He stopped walking and shifted his gaze between the both of them.

"The fuck is up with you two?"

Levy was the first one to speak, "You think I'm pretty?"

_Oh, for fuck's sake_, his eyes grew wide and his lips clamped shut in a thin line. The silence that followed her question was horrifically awkward, so much so that after a few seconds it became seemingly unbearable for Lily. The exceed hopped off of his shoulder and started to walk away, conveniently remembering that he forgot something at the guildhall. Abandoned and at a loss for words, Gajeel stood stock-still, trying to mentally process the situation.

Levy was surprisingly patient as she waited for his response. Her expression was fairly passive, although there was a hint of pink on her cheeks that betrayed her inner nerves. Which only made things more difficult for him. He couldn't very well take it back. For starters he would be lying, and it would also hurt her feelings. So after a few moments of broody contemplation, he blurted out his answer with inelegant sternness.

"Uh, yeah."

He knew it wasn't nearly enough of an explanation, and he inwardly wished that he was better equipped with words in social settings. Levy met his gaze evenly, and then she pursed her lips in a way that he had begun to think of as adorable—a word that had mysteriously appeared in his vocabulary shortly after getting to know her. He maintained the eye contact though, almost viewing it as a sort of challenge, one that he would not back down from no matter how uncomfortable it made him. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, as she seemed to assemble enough courage to say whatever it was on her mind.

"What am I to you?" She asked in a slow, soft voice, before her calm exterior was disrupted by an afterthought. Her brows furrowed together and she pointed a finger at him, adding more firmly, "Besides guild mate and comrade. Well, I guess I mean, am I anything else to you?"

She was trying so hard to appear confident, cool and collected—but he noticed the way her hands fumbled with book she held and the slight tremor that coursed through her entire body, as well as the increasing amount of color in her face. He felt like a real jackass right about then, because he knew the amount of emotion he was expressing was equivalent to that of a rock. It was probably driving her mad. She was probably going to bubble over and explode in three, two…

"The only reason I'm asking is because I _like_ like y-you, okay? There, I said it. And then you go and say things like _that_, and it makes me wonder if maybe you feel the same—"

"Yeah."

"—because if you don't, and you're just saying those things to goof around…well, that'd be really mean and you'd be a jerk—"

"_Yeah_, shrimp."

"—even though you _are_ kind of still a jerk sometimes, but this would be even worse than…what?"

"I…feel the same."

The words sounded strange coming out of his mouth, but they were necessary. Cowardly was never a word he wanted used to describe him, and if this little script mage had to guts to be upfront and honest with him, he wasn't going to disrespect her with any untruthful claims. Oddly enough, he even felt a warm sense of elation after disclosing the information with her. However, he still lacked a certain amount of grace with these types things.

"You got all worked up for nothing, shrimp!" He said with his characteristic laugh. He then raised his hand and tousled her hair clumsily, unintentionally messing up her headband in the process. He retracted his hand quickly, as though it was burned, and swapped his smug grin for an awkward grimace. However, Levy appeared unperturbed by her hair being messed or his nonchalant attitude, and regarded him with a shy smile.

"I guess I sounded pretty ridiculous!" She said finally, self-consciously holding the book up to her face. She looked pretty ridiculous too, book covering her face and her hairdo askew. He felt charmed though, with the way she was behaving over him of all people. His face felt hot all of the sudden, as her eyes cautiously met his once more. His lips parted to say something, but found that speech abandoned him yet again.

"Uh, so…" _Oh hell, just say something. _"We'll date, then."

"O-Oh. Okay." She nodded slowly, before adding more assertively, "Of course, that'd be great. I'd lo—like to."

She averted her eyes to the ground again, and he suddenly found the clear sky exceptionally interesting to look at. After a few more moments of awkward silence, she piped up again.

"So, about your errands?" She offered hopefully, anything to rid them of the situation. He pondered the question for a moment, before shaking his head.

"Damn, I completely forgot what I came here for."

She adopted an apologetic expression, "Oh dear, I hope it wasn't too important."

If he were a different sort of guy, he might have said it was nowhere near as important as the conversation they'd just had. But he wasn't a different sort of guy, so instead he simply grinned and shrugged his shoulders. She smiled sweetly at him anyways, as though she'd understood. He jabbed his thumb in the direction behind them and said, "Let's just head back to the guild."

"Fine with me." She fell into step next to him, and he noticed her begin to readjust the book in her hands. Without a word, he plucked the tome from her grasp and held it just out of her reach. She attempted to appear cross with him, but there was a smirk on her lips to suggest otherwise, "Gajeel!"

"What? I'm just making sure you don't mess up your _pretty_ face on the way there." He chuckled at the fact that she was blushing again. She hit him with her tiny, ineffectual fist—making him laugh even harder.

"_Oh, you!_"

And that was the boring story everyone would want to hear later. There were no intensely passionate confessions. There were no exceptionally romantic displays. Neither of them had even really asked one another, rather they had just come to an agreement. The only reason it had occurred was because of a tripped toe and a slipped sentence.

Nevertheless, they were happy with the outcome.


	2. secrets & their keepers

_Fairy Tail + Characters __© Hiro Mashima_

**A/N:** There isn't a TON of interaction between Gajeel and Levy in this chapter, but I wanted to include Juvia and Lucy in the loop (Pantherlily is a given ok, he doesn't count LOL). Juvia/Gajeel and Lucy/Levy are in my list of top five brotps for Fairy Tail tbh. Plus, I mean, Gajeel would need assistance in my opinion. A lot of assistance.

Rated for Gajeel's potty mouth (not so much in this chapter idk).

* * *

02. Secrets & Their Keepers

He had initially thought that the unexpected confession of mutual feelings would be the most difficult task he faced in this new and strange territory known as "dating". He had been wrong, of course.

"Well, when's your date?" Lily had inquired later that evening, not even bothering to hide his curiosity. He had already made it very clear that he approved of the match, stating that Levy was a 'lovely and bright young woman'—which made Gajeel wonder why it was supposedly such a good match, hell if he knew what sort of fucked up design brought them together.

"Uh, I dunno. We didn't talk about?"

"You didn't set a time or place?" Lily pressed, a frown appearing on his small face.

"Nope."

"Well, you'd better see to that tomorrow. Otherwise it will get awkward and you'll avoid it." Lily's voice was stern and meaningful. However, Gajeel remained unfazed and untroubled by the warning—throwing his head back with a confident laugh.

"Don't worry about it, Lil! I have everything under control!"

And Gajeel _had_ honestly intended to make good on his acknowledgement that they were dating, or at least going to date, the following day, but her stupid all-male cheering team had dragged her off on a job. Then, when she had returned four days later, he had been on his own job that had ended up lasting another three days. Finally, when they were both back in Magnolia, a week had passed by and neither had said a word to each other since the fated afternoon of confessions.

And it was awkward. And he avoided it. And she avoided it, too.

Another week rolled by without any progress, and by then Lily was extremely displeased. It wasn't even that Lily was angry with him either, it was worse than that. Lily was _disappointed_ with him.

"I don't even know what to…even…fucking _do_ on a date." He had grumbled quietly to the brooding exceed at his left, after ensuring that neither Salamander nor the little one was present in case of them overhearing. "Let alone, like, fucking plan one."

Lily perked up at the word 'plan' and stared at him for a moment, "That's it."

He stared back at the cat, dumbfounded and missing the point if one had even been made. "_What's_ it."

"You need to get advice." Lily put his paw to his forehead and chuckled, "It's so simple I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier."

Gajeel blanched. Seeking advice would involve telling someone, and there was no way a secret like this could be kept under wraps in this guild. Both he and Levy had agreed to keep it on the down low for a while, presumably so she could figure out how to tell Tweedledee and Tweedledum. As for him, he just didn't want anyone snooping into his personal life. If he asked someone for advice, then everyone would find out, and everyone would ask questions he didn't know the answers to.

Lily must have noticed the look on his face, because the cat held up a paw and said very calmly, "Relax, Gajeel. Don't you know whom you've got to go to? Who's the one person that will keep your secrets _and_ knows a thing or two about girls?"

Somehow, that didn't seem to comfort Gajeel. _Oh, for fuck's sake, this ought to be enlightening_, he growled inwardly.

"Oi! Juvia!" He hollered in the general direction of Gray Fullbuster, and sure enough her wavy blue locks appeared above the crowd of people. He waved her over, and she nodded with a smile. It took a few moments for her to detach herself from her beloved Gray-sama, but she was at his side soon enough.

"Hello Gajeel-kun, Lily." She greeted with affection, before patting Lily on the head.

Lily accepted the friendly gesture, but wasted no time cutting to the chase, "Juvia, thank-you for coming over, Gajeel here would like to ask you something."

"Oh, a question for Juvia? What is it?" She seemed instantly eager to hear, blinking at him with wide, inquisitive blue eyes.

He covered his face with his hand and muffled an exasperated groan. He despised everything about this situation. Why did it have to be so difficult? He considered the fact that he _could_ choose to do nothing and instead never date Levy, but found himself rejecting the idea as soon as it came to mind. So, after a moment of hesitation, he swallowed some pride and mumbled quietly, "Levy and I agreed to date."

It took a few moments for the statement to register, but eventually her brows rose up in startled realization. Then words began to tumble out of her mouth in hurried excitement, "OH! Gajeel-kun that's so gr—"

Instinctively, he put a hand over her mouth to shut her up. Lily admonished his reaction with a swift scowl, to which Gajeel only grimaced stubbornly. Judging from the grin she displayed once his fingers had been pried away, he hadn't been too rough on her. He whispered furiously at her, attempting to use his 'scary' voice, "Shut up about it, ok! It's a secret!"

"Juvia is sorry!" She whispered back, still smiling like an idiot. "When did you start dating?"

"We haven't exactly…done anything yet." When her expression faltered slightly, he quickly added in a defensive tone, "I don't know how to plan it! When to go, or what to do!"

Juvia said nothing at first. Then _it_ happened. The look she got whenever she had devised a new plan to encourage Gray-sama to confess his undying love for her appeared on her face. "Come with Juvia! We are going to find Levy-san right now, we will discuss on the way."

Begrudgingly, he allowed himself to be dragged off of the barstool by his beaming friend and tried to keep his profane mutterings to himself.

* * *

"Is something the matter, Levy-chan?"

Levy glanced up from the stack of papers she'd been attempting to proofread with a forced grin. "N-no! Of course not, Lu-chan!"

However, a frown still appeared on Lucy's face, as she seemed overly sensitive to Levy's silent scrutiny of her written work. Truthfully, Levy had barely been able to focus on what she was reading and had yet to get past this one sentence she found distracting. She had read it at least twenty times, she was sure of it. Although there was nothing wrong with it grammatically or narratively, it unfortunately reminded her of a certain someone who'd been lurking around in the back of her mind for the past two weeks.

"Levy-chan! You're so quiet! I know something's up! Is it my short story? I had a feeling it wasn't that good." Lucy tapped a finger against her chin thoughtfully, looking particularly glum about it. Levy couldn't contain herself any longer, not when it made her friend feel self-conscious about her writing ability.

"Oh, Lu-chan, it's not your story! I-I just have stuff on my mind…is all." She explained lamely, setting the pages down in a neat pile. She removed her reading glasses and rubbed her tired eyes, knowing an interrogation was sure to follow.

"What's bothering you? Is it Jet and Droy? Is it a mission? Did something happen?" Lucy was more so concerned than nosy, Levy knew this, but she felt as though she would be breaking a promise she made to Gajeel by spilling the beans. She must have given it away in her face, because Lucy dropped her voice to a whisper next, "_Is it Gajeel?_"

Levy only responded with a telltale scowl, with her cheeks puffed out and everything.

"What did he do? Did he say something mean? Because I can ask Natsu kick his ass if you need me too!" Lucy folded her arms across her chest, looking very much like a protective mother hen over a baby chick.

"No, no, nothing like that, Lu-chan." Levy gave an exasperated sigh, close to tearing out her hair in frustration. The words built up in her chest, until she was unable to explain in the delicate manner she had wanted to, and the words burst from her mouth in a rush, "W-We agreed to date each other!"

She had said it louder than she had intended to, and there was an exaggerated, painful silence that followed. Lucy stared without blinking for a full minute before she seemed to wrap her head around it, "What?! Just like that and you guys are dating?" Levy responded with a jerky nod, "Oh my god! That's great Levy-chan! I thought it would take at least five years for him to come to his senses! …Wait, why is that upsetting you?"

Levy made another incoherent noise of frustration, "Because he's so damn stubborn and proud and ugh, he makes me _so_ mad sometimes! He hasn't said two words to me since we talked about dating! I-I don't know if he even wants to anymore!"

Lucy adopted a sympathetic expression, her voice soft as she gave Levy's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, "He's just socially awkward, Levy. I'm _sure_ he still wants to. How could he not?"

Levy felt stupid when her eyes began to sting from the unshed tears that threatened to leak out. She covered her face with both hands and heaved a sigh, and this time it helped calm her down a little. Once she felt as though she could talk without becoming an emotional mess, she lowered her hands and sheepishly glanced in Lucy's direction, "You think so, Lu-chan?"

"I _know_ so. He's only ever had eyes for you, surely you know that by now." Lucy smiled warmly, and Levy began to feel better about the whole thing. She even laughed a little.

"I-I don't even know why I'm making such a big deal out of it. There's absolutely no reason I shouldn't be able to make a move too." But she didn't sound very confident as she spoke, and she felt her face turn pink, "Except…I am a little afraid of rejection, I guess."

"I bet he feels the same way!" Lucy pointed out in a singsong tone, "Although you'd grow old waiting for him to admit to it."

"Isn't that the truth?" Levy agreed with another chuckle.

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door. Lucy stared at her door quizzically before whispering in a suspicious tone, "You're the only one who knocks. Who the heck could it be?"

She approached the door and revealed the unexpected mystery guests to be none other than Gajeel and Juvia. Levy's eyes widened, and she wondered just how much Gajeel had overheard—she wasn't too sure how well Lucy's apartment walls blocked sound, especially to the ears of a dragon slayer. However, his expression said little to nothing about his thoughts. She tried to act normal, relaxing her posture slightly.

"Juvia, Gajeel! What are you doing here?" Lucy asked, before gesturing for them to enter the apartment. Gajeel remained silent and glanced around, looking everywhere except for where Levy stood. Juvia on the other hand, grasped Lucy's arm and pointed in the direct of the washroom.

"L-Lucy! Juvia is here to check on the water quality…like you asked, _remember_? Gajeel-kun was just going to walk Juvia home afterwards, I hope you don't mind." Levy and Gajeel simultaneously glanced at the water mage skeptically, knowing full well that her excuse was a charade. And it was a poor one, at that.

However, Lucy played along with a forced laugh, "Yes! Of course, right this way Juvia!"

The two girls left the room, before promptly shutting the washroom door behind them, and then the pair was alone together. She supposed it was inevitable, that they would share the secret with the only two people they knew capable of keeping it. However, Gajeel seemed to be more irked about it than she, and his unfairly offended behavior seemed to rouse her temper.

"You _told_ her." He accused, red eyes narrowing on her.

"You told _her_." She snapped back, placing her hands on her hips.

He only grunted and averted his gaze. Levy began to boil over again with annoyance, _oh, you're such a stubborn, good for nothing—_but he then he looked back at her and her scowl vanished.

"Did you wanna hang out this weekend?" He muttered casually, shrugging his shoulders as if to convey that it was of no consequence to him whether she could or not. Oh, well if it wasn't really going to matter to him, then maybe it wasn't going to matter to her either. She began to inspect her fingernails with practiced nonchalance and mimicked his shrug.

"Oh, I don't know if I have time for that." She tried not to wince when she heard how aloof she sounded, and hoped he wouldn't take it too seriously. However, judging from the indignant look on his face he was not happy with her response.

Levy met his gaze once more, realizing this was going to go nowhere unless one of them stopped being so prideful. She also knew she shouldn't expect so much of him so early on. After all, a wise woman once told her to pick her battles when it came to the opposite sex. Fortunately, this was a battle she was willing to lose. Levy crossed the room to stand next to him, and their nearness seemed to make maintaining the eye contact difficult for him.

"Hey." She said.

"Tch. Hey what?"

She reached up with her hand, using her tiptoes, to direct his chin towards her face. She was relieved to meet with little resistance, and he even seemed to be a little placated by her touch. She grinned and shook her head at him, "I would like hang out with you this weekend. How about Saturday? I'll meet you at your place around 7 o'clock. Does that sound okay to you?"

Levy blushed when his eyes became heavy-lidded, as an uncharacteristic look that she'd never seen before appeared on his face. There was almost a raw tenderness to the look in his eye, and he said nothing, only nodded slowly. Levy lowered her hand and tried to hide the bashful smile that built up on her face.

_We have a date!_

* * *

Meanwhile…

"Oh my god! Did they kiss?!" Lucy smothered the excited whisper behind both of her hands, pressing her ear against the door even more. Juvia was next to her, doing the same. However, the conversation on the other side began to flow back into casual small talk, the juicy bits having been dealt with. Lucy leaned back with a frown, "I wanted to hear more."

The water mage shot Lucy a look of glee, "Gajeel-kun and Levy-san make a nice couple."

Lucy nodded, smiling again, "I'm happy things are finally happening for them!"

Oddly enough, Juvia's cheerful attitude deflated instantly at that statement. Her eyes became full of large tears and she wailed, "Juvia wants things to happen for her and Gray-sama too!"

"Please don't cry!" Lucy shrieked in alarm, grasping the other woman's shoulders.

"Perhaps…Juvia isn't…trying hard enough!" She whined in between dramatic sobs.

"I'm pretty sure that's _not_ the problem." Lucy muttered underneath her breath, before opening the door to beg for Gajeel's help. If anyone could snap the water mage out of her weepy state, it was old, reliable, insensitive-towards-girls-feelings iron dragon slayer.


	3. flowers & first dates

_Fairy Tail + Characters __© Hiro Mashima_

**A/N:** To be honest, I don't know what sort of man cave Gajeel and Lily live in, but my headcanon is that they live on the outskirts of Magnolia, much like Natsu and Happy. Also, Levy's probably their only visitor besides Juvia (or maybe Wendy). Anyways, yeah. Here's the date chapter. I had originally split it into two parts, but then I was like "Nah" and put it together. So it's quite a bit longer than the other two. Chapter length will probably vary from here on out. I will try to write around at least 3,000 words though! ANYWAYS, the chapter, k go.

Rated for Gajeel's potty mouth.

* * *

03. Flowers & First Dates

Levy's fingers were busy fiddling with anything they could to keep themselves occupied. She readjusted her purse strap and smoothed her hands down the front of her dress. Then she brushed the front locks of her hair behind her ears, before promptly undoing the action—reminding herself that she looked better with them framing her face (in her own opinion, at least).

The trek up to Gajeel's little abode on the outskirts of town had been longer than usual, but that was mostly because she was walking slower on purpose. She knew that she wanted this, more than anything else at that particular moment, but it certainly was an adjustment. She was feeling both extreme giddiness and overwhelming nausea at the prospect of their date. She also felt unbearably self-conscious about her appearance. With the exception of occasional boob-envy, Levy had always prided herself on being secure with who she was. She may not have been physically powerful or stunningly beautiful, but she had always thought she was relatively attractive, intelligent and a good person in general.

However, she felt a sort of pressure to impress or charm or whatever it was she was supposed to do for Gajeel in order for him to want to continue dating her. And the way she craved his approval made her feel ridiculous and stupid, something that happened rarely if at all. Levy tapped a palm to her cheek and inwardly scolded herself, _Get out of your head! He wants this too!_

Prior that evening, she had raided her closet and come to the conclusion that she had somehow lost her sense of fashion, as nothing seemed appealing to her. She had then lamented over the fact that she had postponed a shopping trip in favor of catching up on her latest book. But Lucy had been her savior with calm, reassuring words and advice. Lucy had also forbidden her from changing her mind once the proposed outfit was on. It was a good thing she did, otherwise Levy might have been late.

It was a cute outfit too. A pinkish coral colored, strapless summer dress made of soft material that flowed with the breeze, with a cream colored, short-sleeved knit cardigan to cover her shoulders. The waist had a braided band of fabric to help emphasize her shape, or at least give the illusion that she had more of one. The dress also had a delicate lacy trim for an additional feminine touch. She had decided to pair the dress with silver jewelry, bangle bracelets and dainty studs in her ears, as well as a silver headscarf tied neatly beneath her wavy hair. The scarf was made of a shimmery satin-like material that shone when the moonlight caught it.

Lucy had been _thoughtfully _observant and pointed out that Levy had chosen a great deal of silver accessories, even going so far as to ask if her pair of silver gladiator sandals were brand new (they were). Levy's face burned just remembering it, and the warm summer night did little to help cool her down. Levy was _not_ subconsciously drawn to shiny, silver accessories simply because her date happened to be with someone whose world revolved around metallic substances, certainly _not_!

_As if he'll even notice, much less care whatever I wear!_ She thought as walked up the steps, raising a small fist to gingerly knock on his door. She had expected a pause between her knock and his answer, but the door swung open before her knuckles could even rap on it third time. Her eyes met his, and they stared at each other for a moment.

"Hey." He said bluntly, almost awkwardly.

Levy suppressed the most inappropriate surge of nervous laughter that collected in her chest, and instead she smiled, "Um, hello."

"…Levy! You look very nice." Lily called out from behind Gajeel, waving from his spot on the couch.

She relaxed a little at that, and curtsied for the exceed, "Thank-you very much, Lily!"

"Well now, you two kids have fun. Goodbye. Get going." Lily all but verbally ushered them out the door, punctuating his words with a chuckle that sounded awfully similar to Gajeel's.

The aforementioned dragon slayer, who had been silent all but for his greeting, shut the door behind him and started down the hill. Levy watched him go a few steps, before she started to trail after him. From behind, she could properly admire the fact that he had put together a relatively nice outfit for their date, as well as the fact that he looked rather handsome. He was wearing a long-sleeve, charcoal gray shirt, with green cargo pants and his boots. The shirt fitted him nicely, and Levy didn't miss the way it accentuated his broad shoulders. It had a stand-up collar that flowed down into a short V-neck. There was some suspiciously special embroidery along the hem of the shirt, and Levy wondered if Juvia had in fact sewn the garment specifically for him. She also didn't miss the fact that he was wearing one of the headbands she'd given him.

Her ogling was interrupted by Gajeel's demanding voice. Apparently he was irritated when she didn't immediately step up to his side, as he glanced over his shoulder and stammered out, "Get those little legs moving, shrimp!" And then pointed at the space next to him.

A wide grin appeared on her face as she picked up her pace, "It's not my fault my legs are shorter than yours, you know. You'd better not leave me behind."

She had only meant to tease him, as he always teased her, but he glanced down at her with a startlingly earnest expression, "Oi, I wouldn't do—" However, when he saw the mischief in her eyes, he folded his arms across his chest and just finished with, "_You'd_ better not get lost, shrimp."

That piqued her interest. They hadn't had much time to speak privately since Lucy's house, so she didn't really know what Gajeel had planned for their date. She had imagined all sorts of scenarios over the course of the week, and now she could finally find out. "So…what are we doing tonight?"

He grinned slyly at that, "It's a surprise."

Her brows furrowed, "Oh, come on! You can tell me now that on our way!"

He only shook his head in response, and her curiosity flared. Instead of instigating a shouting match, like she normally would, Levy opted to use a more stealthy approach. She slipped her arm through his and looked up at him with her those sad puppy-dog eyes, the ones that helped her get her way nine times out of ten. He glowered down at her, obviously uncomfortable with the sudden physical contact—but she also noticed that he hadn't immediately yanked his arm from hers. But he didn't budge on the subject either, so she dropped her voice slightly and murmured with exaggerated sweetness, "_Please?_"

"_God fucking dammit_—" He cursed under his breath, as he began to use his free hand to sort through his pocket, "I'll give you a _hint_, although it's a pretty damn obvious one…it's a little crumpled, too." The last part of his statement was spoken somewhat sheepishly.

When he uncurled his large hand to present her with her hint, her eyes widened. In the center of his palm was a rare flower bloom that was only seen around the beaches of Hargeon. She knew immediately where he intended to take her, although she found it surprising all the same, "We're going to the floral festival?"

It was a brief summertime festival that had rare flowers from all over Fiore on display from their respective gardeners. She enjoyed the festival because she often had the opportunity to see a wide variety of flowers that she would of otherwise only read about in books. It was a date specially designed for _her_ enjoyment. It was something Gajeel Redfox would normally _loathe_ to attend. It was unexpectedly considerate of him to organize such a date. Levy was thoroughly impressed.

She glanced up at him, and found that he was staring at her face—expectantly awaiting her reaction. She pulled his arm even closer to her body in a gentle hug, "How thoughtful of you, I love it."

He quickly averted his gaze and shoved the blossom into her hand, which she carefully put in her purse for safekeeping. He snorted and muttered with practiced indifference, "It wasn't my idea, Juvia said you'd probably like it and Lily agreed. S'long as you're happy, I don't give a shit."

Her brow arched as she stared at him intently. Only a moment ago he'd been confident and teasing about it, and now he was acting as though he'd never thought of it in the first place. Was he feeling self-conscious? Perhaps he was worried about being seen with her, since he was so adamant about not being ready to tell anyone yet. Or perhaps he just didn't want to go look at flowers. She withdrew her arm from his, something that caught his attention immediately. She kept her gaze on him and spoke evenly, despite the rising blush in her face, "We don't have to go there if you don't want to, Gajeel. I don't care what we do, as long as we spend some time together."

He stared at her for a long moment, and there was a curiously tense look to his expression. Finally, he broke the silence, "Do you want to go?"

It wasn't exactly what she had expected him to say, so she adopted a skeptical scowl. He didn't elaborate though, so she answer him honestly, "W-Well, yes, I do."

"Then we're going, quit yer complainin'."

She bristled, "I-I'm not _complaining_!"

Even on a date, he was absolutely incorrigible. She had only tried to be considerate of _his_ wants and feelings, and he responded by accusing her of whining of all things! She huffed a little bit, even though she truthfully wasn't as irritated as her expression implied. It was almost _more_ vexing, that she was steadily coming find his cantankerous quirks more endearing than infuriating. She stole a quick glance in his direction and grimaced a little as she thought, _I've got it bad, don't I?_

* * *

_Goddamn woman messing with my head, _he had been thinking, asanother silence elapsed between them. He was grateful for the silence, though—due to the fact that he was still reeling from her previous statement. Sometimes, he couldn't believe the shit that came out of her pretty little mouth.

_I don't care what we do, as long as we spend some time together._

That was exactly what she had said, and the words were still echoing throughout the recesses of his mind. Before that moment, part of him had still felt that the whole situation with her was completely surreal, but then those words had left her lips. They had grounded him and then it had finally hit him, he was really going on a real date, with the real Levy McGarden…in real life.

_Holy shit._

"Gajeel?" There was a tender note of concern in the way she said his name, and it made his chest feel tight. It was an unfamiliar feeling, but not altogether uncomfortable.

"What now?" He blurted out, feeling sorry for the harshness of his tone. If he was going to really attempt a relationship with Levy, he knew that he should work on his manners, if only a little bit. He could practically hear Lily right at that moment, chirping about how proud he was for Gajeel coming to that realization all by himself. The thought made his scowl darken further.

She shook her head and her wavy hair bounced around her face, "Nothing, you're just really quiet all of the sudden."

"Whatever, we're here." He changed the subject and pointed towards the entrance, to which Levy rolled her eyes.

However, the festival quickly distracted her from bothering him further—her face lit up more and more at each stand they strolled by. She even walked ahead of him to inspect the colorful displays more thoroughly. With her preoccupied, he lifted the arm she'd been holding onto just moments ago to look at it. He felt a stupid longing for her to return to his side and hold onto him again, and he stole a quick glance at her. She was currently engaged in a conversation with one of the florists, a middle-aged, bespectacled man who appeared delighted by Levy's enthusiastic questions. He clenched his jaw and shoved the hand back into his pocket with a stubborn defiance. He was _totally_ secure with himself at a sissy flower show if Levy didn't want to hang out with him, one hundred percent.

She must have felt his glare, because she suddenly glanced over her shoulder and gestured for him to come over to her. She couldn't have possibly missed the look on his face, no way in hell, but she didn't appear annoyed with him in the slightest. His intense scowl faltered and then he appeared more dumbfounded then anything, which made her laugh. Part of him was irritated that she was laughing, because he didn't understand what exactly he'd done that was so amusing, but the other part of him felt that unfamiliar twinge in his chest once more. Maybe it was the hazy lighting or the overwhelming smell of flowers or colorful displays surrounding her, but she was unnaturally pretty that evening. Her smile faltered at his staring for only a moment, until she gave him _that_ look. The look that implied she was privy to some secret regarding him that he had yet to comprehend.

She gestured for him to come over again. He frowned, but found himself moving over to her in spite of his annoyance. Once he reached her, she took his arm again (he idly wondered if she'd somehow mastered telepathy), and began to tell him about the various flowers at that particular display. He remained silent and nodded in acknowledgement every now and then; although he really didn't understand half the shit she was telling him. But it was nice. He found himself relaxing and even enjoying himself. He was more than content to let her talk his ear off about silly bits of information he wouldn't retain, because she was just so…_lovely_ in that moment. He liked to listen to her get excited and passionate when she spoke, and she was so damn _smart_. There wasn't a single flower in the whole place that she didn't know a thing or two about.

The tingling in his chest had steadily become warmth, and he almost forgot that they were in public. Until something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye, and realization hit him like a boot to the gut. "Oi, shrimp, we got company."

She spun away from him, quickly letting go of his arm in one fluid motion—easily spotting the couple that he was referring to. It was hard to miss them, they stood out so much that it was painfully obvious. The couple also took notice of them, and suddenly distanced themselves from one another. _Oh? It's like that is it? _He thought with a wide grin.

"Levy, what a _pleasant_ surprise to find you here, and with a _friend_." Evergreen spoke in that way that implied she meant the opposite of everything she said. She opened her fan up and covered half her of face, no doubt to hide the fact that she had been blushing.

"Hello Evergreen, Elfman!" Levy responded breezily, and Gajeel glanced at her sharply. The shrimp was better at this whole acting thing than he was, that was for damn sure. "Are you two—"

"We're _not_ on a date." Evergreen interjected quickly, to which her companion nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, Ever practically _dragged_ me here, flowers are so unmanly." Elfman drawled out with a shrug, and Gajeel didn't miss the quick glare Evergreen shot him. The dragon slayer knew Elfman would be paying for that later, and it took everything to control his urge to laugh at the other guy.

"Oh, no. Of course not." Levy said quickly, waving her hand dismissively, "You're just here to see the flowers. I know you're a fan of botany, Evergreen. I'm sure Elfman is just here to keep you company, besides he could stand to learn a thing or two about plants, am I right?"

Evergreen seemed a tad taken aback at Levy's acceptance of the obvious lie, but then she glanced at Gajeel and seemed to understand. She forced an awkward laugh, and smacked Elfman with her fan, "Yes, he certainly could. Well, we'll be seeing you Levy. Hopefully _Gajeel_ learns a thing or two as well."

And with that the couples had bypassed each other. Although, the second Elfman thought that they were out of earshot, forgetful of Gajeel's keen hearing, he blurted out with a laugh, "Levy's more gullible than I thought! A real man would have seen through your lie in an instant! I wonder what she was doing with Gajeel, so weird."

Gajeel glanced over his shoulder with a scowl, and silently vowed to punch him for that later. As he began to turn his head back a little old woman sitting alone at her stand caught his eye, it looked as though she was selling flowers. He recalled that Juvia had said to _definitely_ buy Levy one if he had the opportunity to do so. He felt unsure about the idea, it wasn't really his style, but he was also curious about whether or not Levy would appreciate the gesture. He had messed up earlier by given her that crumpled up piece of crap, so it only made sense to try and do it properly.

"Something you want to look at?" She asked suddenly, turning to follow his gaze. Only thinking to distract her, he impulsively took her small wrist in his hand and pulled her towards him. He blinked down at her like a mute idiot as she stared back at him, and he realized that that had been the extent of his plan to divert her attention.

"Uh," He started slowly, grasping for something to say. An idea finally popped into his head after a moment, "Do you think Evergreen will tell?"

In truth, he hadn't been all too concerned (especially since she seemed eager to keep her own relationship on the down low), but Levy snapped at the bait regardless—which for some reason made him smirk. He supposed he considered it a win of sorts, as though he had outwitted her in something, even if she was unaware of it.

She smiled softly, "Oh, I don't think so. She may not look like it, but I don't think she's the gossipy type. She's actually a very private person. I think she has trouble making friends with other girls, so I think she'll keep our secret. I'll let her know that I'll keep hers, too." He nodded, though he honestly didn't care about all the details, but Levy added in a sharp tone, "And you'll keep it too."

"Hey, I may be a lot of things shrimp, but I'm no gossip." He retorted gruffly, which seemed to please her for whatever reason. She then reached out to take his arm once more, but he sidestepped her and held up his hand. "Wait here, I'll be right back."

He approached the old woman's booth after ensuring Levy couldn't see him from her location. As he leaned down on the counter to address the saleswoman, the old bat regarded him with a wily grin, "Ohoho, pulling out all the stops for your pretty girlfriend, are yah?"

And here he thought she'd be some sweet old grandma. He narrowed his eyes and any other stranger would've been scared of him, but she only seemed more amused by his behavior than anything, "Don't be such a sour puss, boy. You're on a date, you should be happy such a pretty girl is willing to go out with you. Especially with all your newfangled facial decorations."

"Listen here you old—"

"Oh, stop being so _sensitive_." She chuckled, which of course infuriated him even more. "Now, now, what is it you wanna get the young miss?"

His anger evaporated instantly as he replied, "I…don't know."

The granny rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Well, why don't you tell me what she's like and I'll pick out something special for her." Gajeel kept his mouth firmly closed, uncomfortable with the idea of describing his view on Levy McGarden with a complete stranger. The granny took notice of his hesitation, she shrugged her shoulders and said in a ho-hum voice, "Well, if you're going to be like that, you can just do what every other guy does and go for the traditional red rose."

There was a brief silence before he ground out his words with great difficulty, dropping his voice to a slight whisper, "She's smart…really smart. She reads a lot. She's a stubborn pain in the ass, too by the way. But she's nice…and brave, and also—"

"All right, already. I said describe her, not write your wedding vows." The old woman chortled uproariously at his reaction after she'd spoken. He felt as though the Salamander had just punched him from the way the skin on his face burned with embarrassment. "Here you go, and it's on me." She winked at him, and then shooed him away from her stand.

Face still hot, he grabbed the stem and trudged away from the old bag. Fairy Tail must have influenced him more than he thought, because he stammered out a slightly irate thank-you, before he quickly found his way back to Levy.

She was _impatiently_ waiting where he had left her, hands placed on the delicate curves of her hips and a pout set in her face. He only grinned smugly as he approached, hiding the flower behind his back, "I got something for ya, shrimp."

That seemed to be enough to dispel her irritation, as she perked up, "Oh?"

"It's nothing much, some old hag of a lady gave it to me." He revealed the bloom to her and watched as her eyes widened, a blush slowly creeping up from her neck to her face. He raised a brow, "What's wrong?"

She tentatively took it from his hand and held it close to her face, "N-Nothing's wrong. It's just that…" She turned even redder as the words died on her lips. Gajeel leaned down and inspected the flower closer. Ironically, it was almost identical to the color of her dress, but a shade pinker—with small navy blue spots towards the base of the petals. Within the center of the flower was a periwinkle core that emitted an unusual scent.

"I don't see what all the fuss is about." He said, although there was something so familiar in the way it tickled his nose, but he hadn't quite put his finger on it. There was a floral component, but there was something else too. It also smelt of parchment and the pages of books, with a metallic hint of ink and a specific kind of soap, or maybe it was shampoo. In fact the scent was beginning to remind him of—_Oh._

* * *

Levy noticed the exact moment he realized why she was so flustered. Red eyes met her own, and she was certain if her face were capable of blushing harder it would have. A nervous burst of laughter escaped her lips suddenly, and she raised a hand to touch her lips as if to quell that. The motion did not go unnoticed, and then she thought he was looking at her mouth. The idea both alarmed and excited her, and then she was looking at _his_ mouth. However, they were still in the middle of public festival so she squashed the feeling.

_Oh god, just say something!_

"See this isn't actually a flower, but a weed." Her voice wavered, but still held that educational note in it that she'd had all night, "The weed has gorgeous blooms and a very peculiar scent. It smells different to everyone and actually activates your memory senses, to remind you of a scent that you um, _desire_. I-It's a natural defense mechanism, so that we don't destroy it. F-For it's beauty and that unusual scent component, they are admired as the bloom of p-passion."

"Huh." He blurted out with a jerky nod.

She laughed awkwardly again, before adding, "But they kill crops, so they're usually destroyed anyways. Making them very rare and expensive. I'm surprised she just gave it to you."

"I'm not." Gajeel said suddenly, whipping his head around to glare in what Levy assumed was the 'old hag's' direction. By the time he glanced back at her, the awkward tension seemed to have left his eyes and she began to feel herself relax as well—it helped that she dropped the hand she was carrying the flower in to her side, instead of inhaling it directly. He motioned for the exit and said, "It's getting late. I should walk you home."

"Sure." She smiled again, pleased that he had offered to take her home without her having to ask.

The walk home had been decidedly quiet. Levy hadn't moved to loop her arm with his, and he had kept his hands in his pockets. It wasn't until they reached the old oak tree near the women's dorm that the conversation started again, and Levy assumed it was just to share their farewells before he headed home. But when she looked up at him again, he was staring at her in a way that suggested he had something more to say.

She turned to face him and murmured shyly, "What is it, Gajeel?"

At first, he didn't say anything. He just moved towards her and lowered his face so that it hovered just above hers, and for a moment she thought he might kiss her. He did not, however. She tried to mask her disappointment, slightly embarrassed by the intense want she felt for him.

"I was just curious about something," His voice was a low rumble, it was also a tone that she had never heard from him before—and the sound of it set her flesh on fire. Her nerves tingled with anticipation and her lips parted unconsciously, which seemed to distract him before he forced out a hesitant, but endearing question, "What did you…smell?"

She was acutely aware of the way his Adam's apple bobbed when he swallowed, as she raised the bloom to her nose again. She took a small sniff, and exhaled in a soft sigh. "It smells like a bit like um, metal…and your hair, or the shampoo you use. Um, it smells like summer, or at least the outdoors. Woodsy. And something else…" She trailed off, before boldly raising a shaky hand to touch her fingers to his jawline, "Your aftershave, I think."

Before she could even think to ask him what _he _had smelled, his lips descended upon hers. At first he just placed them there, and Levy had to remind herself that she needed to react in some way. In order to encourage him, she placed her hand fully on his cheek and leaned up into the kiss. He responded by placing one hand on the small of her back, and the other reached up to touch the side of her neck. Her other hand holding the flower groped for something to cling to, coming into contact with his chest before gripping the fabric of his shirt. His lips parted slightly and she felt him sigh against her mouth—before he reluctantly pulled away and retracted his hands, placing them safely back in his pockets.

He broke the silence first, "Well, I should get going. If that redhead catches me out here it'll be bad."

"Okay." She murmured, still a bit dazed. He laughed a little, before tousling her hair with fondness.

"Later, Levy."

"Goodnight, Gajeel." She responded automatically, almost missing the fact that a rare occurrence of him referring to her by her actual name instead of an adjective or pet name happened. She chose not to comment on it, and instead opted to call after him, "Hey, you never told me what it smelled like to you!"

He didn't look back over his shoulder and just waved, before getting in one last teasing remark, "Wouldn't you like to know, shrimp!"

She rolled her eyes, but the broad smile upon her face betrayed her inner happiness. She turned on her heel and headed towards the dorm house, absentmindedly raising a hand to touch her lips. In spite of the blush on her face, she raised the flower to her nose and inhaled again. If she were to describe the scent again, she would simply say it smelled like a kiss.

* * *

**A/N: **It's kind of corny, I know. But alas, this is the concept I came up with. Also the amortentia potion from HP largely inspired the flower/weed thing, for those who were wondering or noticed the connection. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I got more ideas in progress and other work in the making. Until next update. :)


	4. concerning quarrels

_Fairy Tail + Characters __© Hiro Mashima_

**A/N:** Yeah, update, finally. I'm not 100% happy with this chapter (tbh I'm not 100% happy with any of my writing), but I tried so whatever. If I could post that DanRad I tried gif I would haha. I'm going to try to update with another chapter either tonight or tomorrow (key word here being try). Anywho, I hope you enjoy, regardless of my own reservations.

Rated for Gajeel's potty mouth and suggestive content.

* * *

04. Concerning Quarrels

She was making a point of ignoring him even though they were sitting together. The silence between them was charged with negative energy, each one daring the other to speak first. Gajeel was adamant about keeping his mouth shut. He wasn't going to say a damn word to her if she was going to be like this. Levy, however, seemed equally determined to win the game of silent treatment. So instead it was Lily who initiated a conversation. Or rather, he began it with an exaggerated sip of his kiwi juice. Something that caused them both to shoot the exceed a sharp glance.

Lily's gaze moved from one to the other, before he broached the subject, "Did you two have a fight this morning?"

Lily had missed the whole incident, if Gajeel could even call it that, as he had left for the guildhall earlier than them. Lily had meant to give them some alone time, unaware that his attempt to be polite would result in whatever this was between him and her. Gajeel refused to consider it a fight, since it was stupid and Levy's problem anyways. Levy did not fail to inform his partner of his stance, as it seemed to be the main source of her irritation.

"No Lily, we are _not_ fighting, since there is _apparently_ nothing to fight about." Levy addressed the cat with a sickly sweet tone, obviously intended to mock Gajeel.

"I didn't do anything _wrong_." Gajeel ground out between his teeth, ignoring the few people who dared to look at the spectacle. Gajeel wasn't even perturbed by the stares, since arguments between him and Levy had been common long before they agreed to date each other—no one would suspect anything different, unless they already knew about their situation. He swore he could hear Evergreen chuckling somewhere in the din of the guildhall. Turning his attention back to Levy, he grumbled derisively, "Honestly, I don't know _what_ crawled up your ass and died."

Levy's brows furrowed, but she did not glare up at him—evidently she was back to ignoring him. Lily stared at Gajeel with a purposeful look, clearly disbelieving their attempt to convince him everything was 'fine'. And then he said the thing, and the straw broke the camel's back. Lily's voice had been calm and polite as he looked back at Levy, "I must say Levy, you look rather pretty today."

She slammed her book shut and stood up, groaning in frustration, "It's _fine_! I'm _not_ angry! I'm just going to go read my book in peace and quiet. _Don't_ follow me."

And with that, she stormed off to a less crowded part of the guild. Gajeel just rolled his eyes with a snort and muttered, "Tch. Like I'd want to."

He felt Lily's stare and knew it was coming before the exceed even opened his mouth, "What on earthland was _that_ about? Why is she so upset?"

"Hell if I know what's got her panties in a twist." Gajeel said with an indifferent shrug.

Lily scoffed, "I have a feeling you know exactly what happened, you just haven't realized it yet."

"Oi!" Gajeel looked back at him, eyes like daggers, "Why does everything have to be my fucking fault?"

"Has Gajeel-kun said something to upset Levy-san?"

As if things weren't bad enough, Juvia just had to stick her nose in it on top of Lily. He had half a mind to leave the guild for the rest of the day, to hell with the whole lot of them. But then Juvia took the spot across from him, where Levy had previously been sitting, and looked at him with a great deal of concern—and he relented.

"If I did, I don't understand what it was. I didn't say anything out of the ordinary." He explained in a tight voice, just thinking about how angry Levy had been with him for absolutely no reason made his blood boil all over again.

"Please tell Juvia and Lily the whole story."

It wasn't a really long story to tell. She had met him at his place so that they could walk to the guild together, he'd ruffled her hair a little and that was it, she had gotten upset. Okay, so maybe he was paraphrasing. She'd been unusually fidgety when he'd opened the door, and maybe he had noticed that she had spent extra time on her appearance. Maybe he shouldn't have mussed her hair so much, maybe he ruined it and that was why. And yeah, he had noticed that she looked really nice and when asked what he thought all he'd said was 'I dunno, you look fine, same as always'. Why the fuck did he have to comment on her attire anyways? It didn't even make sense to him that she was wearing that ridiculous dress.

"Ridiculous? Juvia does not follow." Gajeel blinked at the confused woman across from him—unaware that he had spoken that thought out loud.

Gajeel then stole a glance over his shoulder at Levy, where she sat on the barstool reading. He crossed his arms over his chest and _pouted_, "It's too revealing."

"Do you need your eyes checked, Gajeel-kun?" Juvia asked, and he would have shouted at her if she hadn't been so sincere about it. Lily just rolled his eyes and shook his head, as if to convey that he knew Gajeel was at fault somewhere in the matter.

Truth be told, in the weeks following their first date, as well as the subsequent dates, Gajeel had been growing more and more aware of the space between Levy and him—or rather, the lack thereof. Levy had been behaving more and more familiar with him, touching his arm or his chest, kissing him unexpectedly, entangling her fingers in his hair _while_ she kissed him and altogether pressing her entire body against his whenever they were alone. It wasn't that he disliked her behavior, quite the opposite. It was more or less the guilty feeling that followed afterwards that often made him resist pursuing her further or even initiating any physical contact. She was always the first to reach for him. Yet everyday she pushed him a little farther, distracting him with her hands and lips, and everyday he had been left a little more frustrated.

Now she was walking around wearing _that_ dress, asking him what he thought about her in it.

The dress in question was a yellow tee-shirt dress, so it covered her shoulders unlike most of her other dresses. But it was one of those garments that was stretchy and clung to every single curve of her shape, not too mention the swoop neckline showed off her both her elegant neck and the lines of her collarbone, as well as the tops of her small breasts. As if that wasn't enough, he had now memorized the slope of her hips, and for the life of him, the firm shape of her perfectly round butt would not get out of his head. The lack of dress length was further emphasized by the fact that she was wearing heels, and her legs looked longer than they actually were. Damn her, and her mind games.

As it were, the woman across from him shrugged her shoulders and spoke matter-of-factly, "Juvia knows exactly why Levy-san is upset."

"I have an inkling, too." Lily nodded, adopting that wise guy expression he typically wore whenever Gajeel fucked up.

"The fuck?" He stammered out indignantly. He had to utilize every ounce of self-control not to shout at the top of his lungs, "I didn't do anything wrong! Just because I didn't fucking compliment her? Tch."

"No, that's not it." Juvia murmured, propping her elbows up on the table and leaning her chin upon her fingers.

He glowered at her as he waited for her to expand on that thought. When she didn't, he spoke through his clenched teeth, "_Go on_."

"Juvia is unsure if she should." She hummed, a frown tugging at her lips. When his expression darkened, she explained in a simple tone, "Gajeel-kun must understand, it is a girl thing and Juvia does not want to betray Levy-san." He might have pointed out that she was supposed to be _his_ friend, not Levy's, but she decided to enlighten him without further persuasion, "Juvia is certain that Levy-san does not mind when Gajeel-kun teases her about her height or messes up her hair, but Juvia thinks that Levy-san wants to be treated…differently sometimes."

"Differently? The fuck does that mean?" He said the words, in spite of the fact that deep down he felt he already knew exactly where this was going.

"How does Juvia put this?" She absentmindedly twirled a lock of hair around her finger as she sought for an adequate way to describe it to him, "Gajeel-kun does not treat Levy-san like a…a woman, or that she is attractive to him."

He squinted at her, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that _Juvia_ was basically telling him that he didn't have the guts to be physical with his lady, that his lady was upset with him for not being man enough to get over his baggage or at least own up to it. He suddenly felt a pathetic sense of insecurity.

Juvia flushed suddenly, before shyly whimpering, "Juvia knows how Levy-san feels, Juvia wishes Gray-sama would think of Juvia as sexy."

He felt his eye twitch, as he registered the level of stupid this whole misunderstanding was turning out to be. He whipped his head around to glare at Levy's back, before he stood up with such a force he almost knocked his chair over.

"G-Gajeel, your temper." Lily's words fell on deaf ears, however, and Juvia was far too focused on her own daydreaming to notice Gajeel's departure.

He tapped her shoulder roughly, and she spun around on her stool, a fierce look in her eyes, "What do _you_ want?"

"We need to talk. Outside, right now." He demanded in a brusque manner—after all, she had used up his patience quota for the day. She spurned him though, turning away from him with a delicate 'hmph'. His anger finally boiled over, "_That's it_."

Without so much as a warning, he unceremoniously plucked her from her seat and threw her over his right shoulder. Levy reacted appropriately, kicking her legs wildly and pounding her fists against his back. Her voice had reached a dangerously scathing note, she was more angry with him than she had ever had been before, he was sure of it, "Gajeel put me down _this instant_! You made me drop my book! Ugh, what is your problem? _You're such an ass!_"

Her string of demands and insults mostly went unacknowledged, except he heaved her up higher onto his shoulder—eliciting a growl of frustration from her. He kicked the door open and exited the guildhall, knowing that everyone was staring at their retreating forms in the wake of the scene they'd made. If there hadn't been rumors before, there was sure to be talk now, but it was nothing they couldn't handle with adamant denials. He'd walked a couple blocks, before turning down an alley for some much needed privacy. Then, he finally slid her off his shoulder—and got a deserved slap across the face. He'd been expecting that, and although it wouldn't leave a bruise his cheek stung a little.

He opened his mouth to speak, but she interrupted him furiously, "Why did you do that?" She punctuated her statement by shoving her small hands against his chest. He didn't budge, much to her chagrin.

"You wouldn't come along willingly." He replied simply.

"So you decide to _take_ me?" She laughed humorlessly, out of sheer disbelief, "Gajeel, you can't just manhandle me. It's disrespectful, and rude. And…and unfair, it's not like I can stop you from doing it."

He nodded, and all the rage he'd felt earlier was steadily dissipated into that sheepish sense of guilt. Apologies were never his strong suit, so all he could manage was a lame half-sentence, "I didn't mean…"

However inadequate that apology was, it settled her feathers a little. She folded her arms across her chest and averted her gaze, scowl still firmly set in place. "Well, next time you'll know to act a little more civilized."

He set his jaw stubbornly, irritated with her choice of words—even though there was some truth in them. Or perhaps it was because of the sliver of truth that the words stung. He wasn't a complete animal, but he certainly hadn't acted like a gentleman either. He growled as he started the original conversation he had wanted to have, "About this morning…"

"Yes?" Her expression was dubious at best, but she waited expectantly for him to elaborate. He gritted his teeth at the look she was giving him, but forced himself to keep talking.

"Honestly, what is it that's got you pissed?" She remained still and steadfast, so he stepped towards her—inclining his head slightly, "Are you mad that I said you only looked 'fine'? Or are you mad because I didn't _react_ how you wanted me to?"

"Pray tell, in what manner do you think I wanted you to react?" She rolled her eyes and tried to laugh as if he was way off the mark, but he noticed the way her cheeks turned pink and her sharp intake of breath. She unconsciously shuffled her feet away from him, until her back came into contact with the building behind her—he followed, but didn't crowd her. Instead he placed one hand against the wall, slightly above her head.

"Well, considerin' the dress you're wearing, you wanted me to do something." He stated, as if that was a sufficient answer.

She looked offended at that, "What's wrong with my dress? It's cute."

"There's nothing _wrong_ with it." He said, no longer looking at her face. His eyes drifted along her dainty figure, and suddenly she was shy again. He raised his other hand with a careful slowness, giving her the opportunity to swat his hand away or tell him to stop if she had wanted to. When she didn't, he stroked one of the locks of hair framing her face, and his lips formed a thin, stubborn line—it was a surprisingly tender gesture on his part and he would be lying he said he was completely comfortable with the situation. She did that thing again, the thing that made it impossible for him to think straight, with that curious twinkle in her eyes and that way she unconsciously shaped her soft, perfect mouth. Just thinking of the word mouth made him crave that lip-to-lip contact. How long had it been since they'd kissed? He couldn't remember, so he decided it had been too long.

His mind revolted against his body though, and he found himself talking again—self-sabotaging the moment, "Levy, do you…?"

"Do I?" She prompted when he trailed off, and the way she quirked her brow made him half-smile.

"Do you think that I don't find you…dammit this is gonna sound stupid but, desirable or whatever?" His tone had regained a sharp edge to it, remembering his earlier annoyance and her refusal to talk about it. She blinked up at him and opened her mouth, though nothing came out. He dropped his hand from her hair and leaned away slightly, patiently waiting for her to form a coherent response.

"I…well, I…" She started lamely, knotting her fingers together as she floundered for an explanation. He felt like an ass again, lacking the proper conversational tools to soothe her nerves—there was also the matter that a lump had developed in his throat and his chest felt tight with anxious energy. _Goddammit, what the fuck has she done to me?_ He wondered, before she finally spoke up, "I-It's okay, you know, that I'm _just_ cute. It's kind of my thing, I'm small…well, everywhere. I'm not gorgeous like Lucy or Mira, and I'm not _sexy_ like Erza or Cana."

He _almost_ wished he could be the cultured gentleman Levy deserved, but he'd be damned if he was going to act like some romantic asshat. So instead, he blurted his words out in his typical, ill-mannered fashion, "_So fucking what?_"

She stared at him blankly, completely stunned by his coarse response, even though she should have expected it by now. Her shock lasted a split second, before rage reappeared in her face—an angry, embarrassed blush stained her cheeks and he thought he saw her eyes water a tad. She raised her hand to slap him again, but this time he caught her wrist with little effort.

"Ugh, I'm not very good at this, am I?" He groaned suddenly, displaying an irritable grimace. She stopped struggling in his grip and regarded him with wide eyes. His tone was aloof and curt when he elaborated on his former statement, "The blonde ain't my type. That barmaid…scary as hell when she's pissed, but she's fucking annoying besides that. I fucking respect Titania's strength, but that doesn't mean I wanna date her. _No thanks_. And don't even get me started on that drunk."

"But you…" She stammered out in disbelief.

"I said, so fucking what." He repeated, brows furrowing again in spite of the telltale blush that started to creep onto his cheeks, "I don't give a shit if you're nothing like any of them. The less you're like them, the better. Fuck 'em."

Perhaps that last part had been a bit over the line, but he felt it needed to be said. The fact that she had even considered herself anything less than those girls pissed him off beyond belief. What the hell did _just_ cute even mean, anyways? Levy seemed baffled by his words, which pissed him off even more.

"I…I never um, _considered_ that." She said finally, averting her gaze to the side, "I'm sorry for getting all upset for something so stupid."

_No_, he wanted to be able to say, _I'm stupid, and I was scared._ But he did not say that, he just sighed and patted the top of her head.

"Well, I guess we should get back." Levy started, a rejuvenated sense of exuberance in her tone, "I'll need to put out all the fires you started with your scene you know, if we still want to keep this a secret."

"Ready to tell those two morons yet?" He asked, folding his arms across his chest.

"…Er, not quite yet."

"Then put out all the fires you want."

"Will do." She agreed with a smile, and as she turned away from him to leave he was repossessed by that earlier craving.

"Yeah, just one more thing."

Before she could ask him what it was that he wanted, he grabbed her elbow lightly and pulled her back to him with a little bit of force. She was able to say 'Ga' before his mouth collided with hers. For a moment her arms hovered in the air around him, so caught off guard that she wasn't sure where to put them, but as his hands found her back and pulled her even closer, she gripped his shoulder in one hand as the other found the nape of his neck. One hand remained firmly between her shoulder blades, as the other slid down her side to rest on her hip. His head tilted to deepen the kiss, wanting more of her mouth, more contact. The hand on her hip slid a fraction lower and the other slipped beneath her arm, his fingertips so close to gripping those gentle, feminine curves of hers.

However, with a slight grown, he tugged his mouth from hers and placed both hands on her shoulders to steady her. She raised her right hand to her shoulder and stroked the backs of his fingers, as she fought to control her breathing and the flushed look on her face. He would have laughed had he not been in a similar state as her.

"I think that might have been the reaction you wanted." He responded after a brief silence, once he'd caught his breath. And he couldn't resist teasing her further, as a slightly smug tone appeared in his voice, "_Satisfied?_"

"I believe it clears a few things up, yes." She said tartly, smoothing her hands along the front of her dress before she spun away from him on her heel and began to head back to the guild.

He gave a snort of laughter at that, but as she strode ahead of him he didn't miss the fact that she walked with a little more confidence than she had this morning. His gaze slid down her spine to get a final mental snapshot of her backside and her slim legs in that dress, and only afterwards did he follow her.


	5. you lead, i follow

_Fairy Tail + Characters __© Hiro Mashima_

**A/N:** I adjusted the rating because I've been flip-flopping over whether or not to write more mature material in the future for this fic. Lately I've been feeling like that's a no go. It may change in the future however, so I don't know. Anyways, this chapter doesn't have a lot of dialogue except towards the end, as I wanted it to be more about gestures and actions (what am I even talking about idk). I hope that you enjoy it, I felt the need to put something sweet and fluffy out after that depressing chapter in the manga today (holy crapola).

Rated for Gajeel's potty mouth.

* * *

05. You Lead, I Follow

Levy McGarden was having a tough time hiding her excitement, as it was the first actual job she performed alone with Gajeel. It wasn't a difficult job, largely based around security detailing for a nobleman's wedding. Levy had chosen it because it was neither easy, nor out of her league. She had worried Gajeel would reject the proposition without a second glance, but he had been surprisingly eager to get out of Magnolia—even if it was for 'prissy shit like a wedding', as he had put it.

He hadn't said anything, but she suspected that his willingness to take the job with her had something to do with the way Jet and Droy had been behaving as of late. Although they had come around to the idea of viewing Gajeel as a comrade, they did not particularly enjoy spending time with him. They were also very dear friends to her that she had been neglecting in favor of spending more time with her secret boyfriend. So, for the past two weeks they had been occupying her time and space—so much so that Gajeel barely had an opportunity to chat with her. She knew they were doing it on purpose, but she had to take some responsibility for the way she'd been ditching them in the past.

So, when she saw the opportunity to take a job out of town, she invited Gajeel. Of course, Levy had told Mira she was taking the job with Juvia, who was eager to help out with the secret. Likewise, Pantherlily would be telling people that Gajeel and him were going up to the mountains for training. Gajeel had asked her when she had become so good at fibbing, and she had simply informed him of her extensive collection of espionage novels. With both of them covered for the weekend, they had stole away to their destination of Ruthermont Park—an estate owned by the Earl and Countess Penrose.

The estate was quite large, although it was only a quarter of the Heartfilia family's original property judging from the descriptions Levy had heard from both Natsu and Gray. Much of the estate was beautifully landscaped with cobblestone pathways throughout a lush, green garden in the front—which undoubtedly reached all the way behind the grand Victorian-styled home.

The servants were quick to usher the pair to the Earl's study, although Gajeel's appearance gained more than a couple unwanted stares. Levy tried to be as friendly as possible, to make up for her companion's broody silence. She'd noticed that the moment they'd entered the property he'd become tense and tight-lipped, and she wondered if being surrounded by all of this wealth and elegance made him uncomfortable. She kept her thoughts to herself, not intending to get off on the wrong foot with their employer by having that discussion with Gajeel where people would hear.

She shook her head slightly, dragging herself from her inner concerns to focus on the aforementioned employer, as he greeted them in the study. The Earl was a short and stout man of fifty, with a receding hairline and a kindly face full of laugh lines. He wore a well-tailored suit made of expensive fabric, but the colors were muted and modest looking. Her initial impression of him was that he was not a tyrannical aristocrat—like Lucy's father had been in the past—but rather a mild-mannered gentleman who just happened to have good fortune. She was even further fascinated by the way he looked at the two of them with relaxed approval, not even bothering to spare Gajeel a second glance.

"So, you're the two mages from Fairy Tail. Well, good morning." He stated calmly, shuffling the paperwork on his desk as he explained their duties, "My son is marrying his fiancée this afternoon, and the reception party will follow afterwards. The proceedings should not last long past midnight, and if all goes according to plan you will be paid your reward in the morning. You may use the guesthouse for your overnight stay, there are three separate rooms prepared to choose from. Now the reason you are here—"

The Earl found what it was he was looking for, and offered it to them. Gajeel snatched the photograph from his hand first, even though Levy had reached for it. She shot him a disapproving glance that went ignored.

"—is because my soon-to-be daughter-in-law has an ex-suitor who is not taking this arrangement very well. As you can see from the picture, he is a delinquent and also a member of a smalltime dark guild. The guild has no good reason to intervene on the wedding proceedings, but I'm afraid he might alone try to spoil the festivities or worse, assault the bride. He's been known to have a mean temper and is quick to get violent. He is, however, not overly intelligent."

Levy took the photo from Gajeel's fingers after he was finished with it, and began a thorough inspection of this repulsive human being. A resentful wrinkle wriggled between her brows as she grimaced at the photograph. The man in the photograph would be grievously handsome, if not for the obviously conceited manner in which he smiled or the detailed description of his foul personality. A perceptive chuckle from across the room garnered her attention once again.

"Yes, it is unfortunate that he has the face of a prince, instead of the ogre he really is." The Earl said, sounding tired and distracted. Levy frowned sympathetically, tucking the photo into her bag so that they would have it just in case. Weddings were supposed to be a happy occasion, and the stress this one man was invoking was trying its hardest to ruin the day. Levy's hand balled into a fist and she placed it against her chest, over her heart, as she regarded the Earl with an ignited determination.

"We will not allow this man to ruin your son's or his fiancée's wedding day!" She shouted awkwardly, her voice sounding louder than she'd intended, but she persevered, "I promise you! As a Fairy Tail wizard!"

An annoying blush had risen to her cheeks by the time she was done her speech, and she could tell that Gajeel was staring at her from the corner of her eye. However, the Earl seemed pleased with her display, smiling at her in an affable manner. "I have no doubt in my mind you two will be a successful team. Fairy Tail is a very popular guild and I've heard good things. If you do come into contact with the target and are required to utilize force, you may…but I must insist, please do try to keep the property damage to a minimum."

* * *

As it were, the ceremony went smoothly, save that he bride nearly tripped over her obnoxiously large ball gown. However, she did not appear embarrassed by the misstep, as her father steadied her before handing her off to the groom. The couple was young, but very sweet towards each other. While setting up some protective script barriers within the reception hall, she'd overheard one of the older maids telling a new employee the story—and Levy had been too curious to not eavesdrop.

Apparently, the young bride and her family were not of the upper class. In fact the young woman had joined this smalltime dark guild her former boyfriend was a part of in order to help out her large family—the bride's guests included seven younger teens and children who were undoubtedly related to her. Seven younger siblings and penniless parents had driven the poor girl to seek a life of crime. Fate, according to the maid, intervened and the woman's first robbery was on the young master. They met and fell in love, which was shortly followed by courtship and an engagement. Levy's face burned fiercely after hearing the story. It was the stuff of novels, a torrid love affair turned into a happy marriage.

Something must have shown on her face, because when she got back Gajeel had pointed and laughed at her, saying, "Looks like you saw or heard something you weren't supposed to."

She had been defensive, of course, retorting in a short tone, "I'm not a gossip or a snoop, I'll have you know."

He'd been unconvinced, but didn't press her on the matter—not like he'd care to hear the story anyway. Afterwards, she had gone for a walk to put up more defensive runes along the perimeter. If anyone entered the outer premises, she would be alerted about it immediately, and she had inscribed the scripts around the main house to only allow those with an invitation or employee pass to enter. With all of that done, Levy had laid herself down in the garden, on a slight slope just outside of the ballroom. There was an elegant, marble water fountain with tall female sculpture in the center that reminded Levy of Lucy's celestial spirit, Aquarius.

After a moment of admiring the art and architecture of the garden, she retrieved the novel she'd brought and opened it to the last place she'd left off. The glow from the chandeliers within the ballroom provided Levy with enough light to comfortably read. As she scanned the first few sentences, she idly thought the pianist hired to perform for the wedding was rather masterful, as the sound of graceful waltzes and party chatter drifted from an open window somewhere behind her. She was so tuned into the music and her book, that she didn't immediately take notice of Gajeel, as he sat down next to her. It was only when he leaned towards her that she looked up from the page to meet his gaze. His eyes lifted from the book in her hands to her face, and for a moment she forgot that they were in the middle of a job.

"H-How was the perimeter sweep?" She inquired pointedly, reminding herself to focus on business before pleasure in order to get the job done properly.

"Quiet." He replied, his eyes sweeping over her in one quick motion, before he lay back against the ground, using his hands to pillow his head. He shut his eyes for a few moments, and Levy couldn't help but stare. Since arriving at the estate they had said little to each other, but she felt that it had become a sort of comfortable silence—as though there didn't _need_ to be any words. Levy's eyes fell from his face to his chest, watching it rise and fall with each breath. It was…peaceful.

When she glanced back to his face she found his eyes were open again, and focused directly on her. She felt herself blush a little, but smiled in spite of it. "Well, with my runes, we shouldn't have much to worry about. I'm afraid you might _not_ get to punch someone."

He grinned and shut his eyes again, "That's a damn shame, I was so looking forward to kicking the shit out of _prince charming_."

She put her book back in her bag, and stood up suddenly—to which he opened a single eye, obviously curious about her intent. Levy brushed the dirt and grass off of her dress, before turning to face him with an extended hand, "Get up."

"What for?" His eye narrowed on her with suspicion.

"Dance with me." She urged, shaking her hand again. Another waltz had started inside the ballroom, and it happened to be one she had heard before. There was something bittersweet and beautiful about the song—having a melody with both heartbreaking and sweeping moments. Levy knew she was asking a lot of him by even suggesting they dance together, much less to a waltz, but she was a little more than determined.

"Hell no." He came his quick reply, as he shut his eye again. She wasn't fazed by his rejection, and instead reached down to grab his elbow, earning a swift glare from him.

"Oh, _please_? No one can even see us." She persisted, using the look and the voice to get her way. He still resisted, though. In the dim light she couldn't tell if he was blushing or not, but there was a distinct waver of hesitance in his voice when he spoke again.

"I don't know how to dance, shrimp."

"It's _easy_." Judging by the look on his face, he was unconvinced. She rolled her eyes and laughed softly, tugging him into a sitting position, "I'll even let you lead."

"You better not make a fucking fuss when I trample your toes." He muttered with a resigned groan, finally standing up.

He suspended his hands in the air around her small figure, noticeably unsure of what to do or where to place them. She took his right hand and put it against her waist firmly, before reaching her left hand to the back of his neck. He was so tall compared to her that her left hand placement was a little bit awkward, but she didn't let it bother her as she clasped their free hands together securely. She looked up at him brightly and said with gentle encouragement, "Now move your feet."

He had been absolutely right. He did not know how to dance. He was painfully clumsy during the first few movements, even stepping on her foot once with a mumbled curse. She almost felt bad for goading him into doing it, but when she relaxed her body against his, his motions became a little less stiff and a little more fluid. Perhaps it was the dancing and the romantic atmosphere, or the love story she'd heard earlier that day, but Levy McGarden was feeling rather smitten about her fierce iron dragon slayer in that moment. However, he was still a rookie. His hand gripped her waist tightly as her shoes slipped on the grass, which made her stumble backwards. He supported her weight with ease and leaned over her, displaying an agitated scowl.

"See, I told you I can't dance." The quiet rumble of his voice seemed softer than his expression. Her smile grew wide and affectionate, which caused his bottom lip jut out in a defiant pout. She decided at that moment that there was something innocently endearing about the way he pouted.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, still smiling, "This is just called a dip, it's a very common dance move."

"Tch." He rolled his eyes, and pulled her upright. He did not initiate anymore dancing, but he did not release his hold on her either. They stayed like that for a moment, before she closed her eyes with a sigh—leaning a little more heavily on him.

"You're not that bad, you know." She hummed low in her throat, "You'd probably do much better with a taller partner, though."

He said nothing, but released her hand to wrap his arm around her back. She might have been reading him wrongly, but she thought the gesture was intended to say that he didn't want a taller partner. Either way, she was glad of it, and she smiled against the fabric of his shirt. They stayed like that for a time, listening to the piano music spilling over into the grand courtyard and sitting close together. The rest of the evening was uneventful with no sign of their target. She had a feeling that even if he had shown up he just wasn't clever enough to slip through her carefully lain barrier, and even if he had, he would've only met Gajeel's fist.

As promised, they were given leave to use the guesthouse as they saw fit, and were supplied with all the amenities one might have found at an expensive hotel. They found themselves standing in the hallway, each with a door to a separate room behind them. Levy looked him in the eye, waiting for him to say something, _anything_ that would reveal a portion of his thoughts. After a moment, he half-turned towards the door behind him and shut his eyes.

"Well, g'night."

_That's it?_ She wondered, biting her bottom lip. She knew she shouldn't press further, since the obvious, potential invitation for them to share a room had been clearly rejected by him. However, knowing what was the right thing to do and following through with it was two different things.

"We don't have to sleep in separate rooms!" She blurted out, heat rising to her face the instant the words left her lips.

He froze, before cautiously turning his head to peer back at her over his shoulder. The shape of his brow implied that he was scowling, as though irritated at the thought. He was always scowling, always irritated. He faced her fully and thrust his hand up in the air angrily, "Yah got to be fucking kidding me!"

Levy puffed her cheeks out stubbornly and her small hands formed fists, as she attempted to explain—albeit lamely, "W-Well! We've been dating for almost two months!"

"So you're ready to jump into bed with me at the first opportunity?!" He shouted incredulously, as though he couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth, or his own for that matter.

"W-We don't have to _do anything_, except sleep of course!" She said, as though everything were that simple. His left eye twitched and she noticed the way his face began to redden. She realized her face must have been just as red, if not more so.

There was no need to explain what Levy had meant by the words 'do anything', although she felt shame in needing to sidestep around a simple word. After all, Levy had always been very meticulous about her use of words as a lover of linguistics and the like. A word was a word and it only had a simple, specific definition and she shouldn't have been too embarrassed to say it. Be that as it may, she did not correct herself.

Gajeel crossed his arms over his chest and scowled, as he rephrased his refusal, "No, Shrimp. It won't work."

"It won't _work_? What does _that_ mean?" Levy's disbelief seem to only embarrass him further, his blush deepening.

"J-Just go to your room, and quit bothering me!" He stammered out, before he retreated to his own room—slamming the door shut behind him. Even so, she could still hear him grumbling loudly, "For fuck's sake! Tryin' to be a goddamn gentleman and I still get lip from her! Fuckin' impossible!"

"I can _hear_ you, you know!" She shouted through the door, and she thought she heard a snarky 'I wasn't trying to be quiet' retort, but she ignored him. Rolling her eyes, she turned and plucked her overnight bag from the floor, before stomping over to her room. She would have left it at that, but she felt a compulsion to go to bed on a slightly better note. So she shouted—attempting to sound not as angry mind you—in the direction of his room, "Good night, Gajeel!"

* * *

The following morning had included the wrap up of their job, with a fine payment for the both of them to share, and then the short journey back to Magnolia. They'd chosen one of the more backwoods routes to the city, so that they could avoid being seen together—however, their plan failed unbeknownst to them.

"Carla, do you hear that?" Wendy asked, looking down at the white exceed comfortably situated in her arms. They had been up to visit old Porlyusica that morning, and were now just heading back into town when they happened upon the traveling pair. Carla said nothing, only nodded. Wendy glanced in the general direction from which the voice was coming, "It sounds like Gajeel-san, maybe he's back from training."

The girl took a step towards Gajeel's voice, but then a second one spoke up—and it was not that of Pantherlily, whom he had allegedly been training with, but Levy McGarden instead.

"Levy-san?" Wendy whispered, a little confused.

"Wendy?" Carla asked, blinking up at her with a frown.

"Shh!" Wendy whispered quickly, before she found a hiding spot in the bushes. The exceed huffed in annoyance, clearly perplexed by the whole situation.

"Wendy, why are you hiding?" She demanded, squirming a little in the girl's arms.

"Shh!" Wendy whispered again, as the pair was nearing their position. After a heartbeat, one of the sets of footsteps paused and Wendy knew she'd been found. She tried to peek through a hole in the leaves, and her keen eyesight prevailed. Gajeel was staring in her general direction, but he was definitely looking too high to spy her.

"What is it, Gajeel?" Levy asked, as she stopped and half-turned to face him with a hand on her hip. Wendy held her breath and willed him to not take notice of her. Thankfully, Carla remained still and silent as well, although she looked rather unhappy about it.

"I could've sworn I heard something." He said after a moment.

"Oh, did it sound dangerous?" Levy said, stifling a yawn, "Should I be worried?"

"Nah, it just…" Then he snorted and seemed to lose interest, "Never mind, it's probably nothing."

Before they were out of range of Wendy's sight and hearing, Levy laughed gently and looped her arm through his, before saying in a teasing tone, "I'd better stay close, just in case."

"Har har, very funny midget." He snapped, but did not shake her off of him.

Afterwards, when they were well ahead, the girl and the exceed emerged from the bushes and looked after the path. Carla had climbed out of Wendy's arms and was now staring up at the girl with a grown, "Why did you hide Wendy?"

"Gajeel-san and Levy-san are together." She said tentatively, her small hands clasped together as she attempted to explain her actions, "But they lied about where they went this weekend."

"I still don't see how this effects you." Carla folded her arms across her chest, now scowling.

"Well, I thought that maybe they weren't telling people, because they didn't want anyone to know. So, I guess I didn't want things to be awkward for them." The girl explained slowly, glancing towards Magnolia. When she looked back at her exceed, the white cat's expression had softened a great deal and she was almost smiling.

"I see. Well, in that case, that was very thoughtful of you." Carla then turned and started to walk down the path to town, "I suppose now we'll have to keep their secret as well."

* * *

**A/N: **Hi, okay, so Wendy finding out will become relevant later on. Also it makes sense, because I feel like with these kinds of secrets, they steadily become unraveled, or at least they would for these two. Anywho, if anyone is curious (which you probably aren't), the piano piece I had in mind for the dance is Chopin's Waltz No. 3 in A minor. It is without a doubt my favorite piano piece, and if you like classical music I highly recommend! Thanks for reading!


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